Game apparatus



D. E. WALKER GAME APPARATUS May 3, 1932.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8, 1929 jm/vrofi Z. E Walker ATTORNEYS D. E.WALKER GAME APPARATUS May 3, 1932.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1929 I a o I DALLAS E. WALKER, DOVER,FLORIDA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF 1T0 WALKER, OF DOVER, FLORIDA GJI..

Patented May 3, 1932 UNITED.- STATES PATENT oFFicE.

min m E.

GAME APPARATUS Application filed June 8, 1929. Serial No. 369,281.

channels in which a rollable game piece or pieces areadapted to beprojected. p I

The invention is characterized as to novelty by the provision of certaintraps, hazards,

, pockets and signal means which, in combination with special deflectingsurfaces, require the exercise of considerable judgment, accuracy andskill on the part of the player in order to obtain the higher scorevalues, more or less arbitrarily given to the surface divisions of theapparatus and receivers.

More particularly, the invent-ion resides also in the provision ofmanipulable means for the ball deflecting and receiving elements whichmay be so set as to effect a return of the game pieces to projectingposition or to a projector after each play, or preventing such return,as the case may be, and in accordance with the particular manner ofplaying the game.

Among other objects, it is my aim to pro vide a portable game apparatuswhich may be readily handled, set up, stored or transported from placeto place, and embodying intriguing features affording a considerablevariety in the plays and the skill to make the same.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will behereinafter set forth a and the novel features thereof defined by thehazards and the adjusting means therefor;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view showing the channel gates andoperating means therefor a Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectionalView on line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a similar view on line 7-7 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a similar View on line 8-8 of- Fig. 5; and j V r Fig. 9 is anenlarged sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 1.

Referrinqto the drawings, 10 designatesgenerally the gameboard, which isin effect a relatively long and narrow receptacle having the confiningwall 11 entirely surrounding the same. This wall at the farther end, itis to be particularly noted, is preferably provided with variablelength, angularly'related sections 11a, 11b and 110, the particularobject of which will be more fully'set forth as this descriptionproceeds.

Adjacent to and spaced fromrone of the side or enclosing walls isdisposed a relatively. long partition 12 which forms a guide chan nel oralley A extending the full length of the board or base, said channelpreferably being made to gradually widen as it approaches the far endwhere the partition 12 joins a circularly shaped block 13, which inconjunction with the outer wall extends the said guide channel around tothe opposite side of the board. v

In the particular embodiment here d-isclosed by way of exemplificationof the invention only, I provide two additional partition walls, onedesignated 14: and located approximately centrally, and the other 15located adjacent the side of the board. One end of the longer partition15 is slightly curved and extends into the outlet of the channel A andby its cooperation'with the side wall of the board a channel or alley Bis formed.

As a special feature, the extremity 15a of the partition mentioned ismade of bendable material so that the tip may be adjusted laterally oneway or the other to thereby impart a greater tendency to shunt the gameici channels C and D. At the entrance to these channels adjacent thecircular block 13, I place a bell 16 and a hazard 17 in the form of anadjustable block, having the angularly related deflecting faces 17a and176, the particular position of which will control more or less whetherthe gamepiece will pass into the channel D with or without contact withthe bell or into the channel C with or without contact with said bell.Any'means for adjusting the block 17 maybe employed but I preferably usefor this purpose'a setting or clamping screw 18 passing through thebottom of the game board.

By the use of the diagonal, spaced partitions 19 and 20, together withthe openings 21 and 22 in the partition 12, the game pieces passing intothe return alleys B, C or D will return to the guide channel A. In oneof the return channels, preferably that designated B, I place a pocketreceiver 23 with its mouth facin the entrance to the channel. The disposition of the gamepiece into this receiver is a matter of chance andaccordingly a greater value to the play is given, as will be laterexplained.

To enable the game piece which lodges in this receiver to be displaced,the said receiver is pivotally secured to the game board or base andprovided with an actuating rod 24 which extends through the near end ofthe board where it is accessible to the player. By pulling upon the rodand rotating the receiver against the tension of the spring 28, the

game piece will move out of the pocket under the influence of gravity,when the board is inclined and return to the guide channel A, afterwhich the pocket will be restored to its normal position by the spring23. I

A still further special feature of my ap paratus resides in theprovision of the gates 25 and 26 for closing the ends of the channels Band D and trapping the game piece or pieces which may pass into saidchannels. These gates are each pivoted at one end while on their freeends there are preferably secured wear plates 2? and 28 which coact withcamming fingers 29 and '30, in turn connected to the link 31. From thislink an actuating rod 32 extends outwardly of the near end of the board.

By pulling upon said rod the camming fingers 29 and 30 will shift thegates to open position against the tension of their springs 3-3 whichact to close the gates only when the rod 32 is pulled back in thereverse direction to that above mentioned. Thus the game may be playedwiththe channels B and D open or closed and when closed no question canarise in the plays as to whether the gamepieces passed through onechannel or the other. After each play of course the gates may besimultaneously opened and the game pieces will return to the guidechannel farend at the desired height to insure the gravitative action ofthe rollable members or operation during playing of the game.

\Vhile I do not consider it to be essential,

I nevertheless prefer to'employ a projector device for this game in theform ofa spring. gun of special construction, this gun, which I do notherein claim, is'novel in construction and comprises theh ead or block35 through which passes a rod 36 extending througha guide tube 37. Tothe end of the rod is secured the handle or knob 38 and about the guidetube .37 is disposed the spiral spring 39 which in the operationofthegun is compressed by pulling'outwardly'on the knob 38.: The guide tube37 in this operation slides through the opening in the end of the boardso as to permit the compression of the spring as above mentioned, andthis special arrangement of the guide tube maintains the spring in theproper position to,

insure its free action to impel the head 35. This head coacting with theside walls of the channel A, is thus guided and a straight and powerfulimpulse may be imparted to the reliable game iecc which is initiallyplaced in advance 0 the head in the channel A As just mentioned, thisgame is intended to be played with a spherical game piece or ball, or aplurality of'such members, as the case may be. These ball members have adiameter substantially less than the width of the guide channel A andfor this reason the shots of the game pieces will differ from one shotto the-next, depending primarily upon the position they originallyoccupy with relation to the head of the gun and the force of the impulseas controlledby the degree of retraction of the gun by the player.

In order to prevent the accidental displacement of the game pieces, Ipreferably employ a transparent cover 40 for the game board. This coveris in one ormore sections and is slidably mounted in guide grooves 41 inthe side walls 11. The cover is heldin place by the retainer 42 whichextends across the near end of the cover-andis pivotally secured to thesides as indicated at 43, By raising the retainer the; cover sectionsmay be displaced sufiiciently to enable access to the vari ous channelsfor cleaning purposes or for displacement of the ball members, repair ofparts, etc. In view of the force with which the ball members contactwith ithe far end of the ame board, I prefer to employ a nonbreakablecover section 40 at said end.

At an intermediate point in the cover an opening at is provided for thepurpose of enabling the sound of the bell to pass from the game board soas to be heard by the play ers. In conjunction with this opening a sounddeflector of metal or the like, designated a5, is used so as to assistin directing the sound toward the end of the board where the playersmanipulate the projector.

At least on one side a handle 46 is provided for holding the board whilepressure is eX- erted upon the plunger for propelling the game pieces orballs 47 used with this apparatus.

Vhile the game may be played in several different ways, the followingmay be taken as an eXemplifica-tion of the character of op erat-ion ofthis apparatus. A plurality of balls l? is first inserted into theguideway A in advance of the projector. The introduction may be madethrough the sound opening 44 or the glass cover section at the near endof the board may be displaced for this purpose. The handle 38 of theprojector is now pulled baclrwardly and then released Under the impetusof the spring 39, the balls are rolled up the inclined guideway A,banking off of the angular sections 11a, 11?) and 110 in their progressto the return side of the game board. If one of the balls passes aroundand into the alley C without contacting with the bell, a score point ofis taken; if in doing so the bell is struck, then the score point of 50is taken for this shot. This ball will roll down and pass through theopening 22- and back to the guideway channel A in advance of the head ofthe projector. If one of the other balls passes into the alley D withoutringing the bell, a score of 10 is taken; if in doing so the bell isstruck, a score of is taken for this shot. If one of the balls passesinto the channel B, which is the easiest one to play orto roll into, apenalty of 5 points is deducted from the total of the other channels.If, however, the ball in passing down the channel B should lodge in thepocket receiver 23, a score of is taken.

Those balls passing into the alleys D and B will be trapped by the gatesif closed until the score is fully calculated, whereupon the gates maythen be opened and the balls will return by gravity to the alley A. Thegame is won by the player who receives the highest score arbitrarily setfor the game.

Instead of employing a plurality ofballs, a single one may be used andthe score points accumulated over a number of shots.

A difi'erent method of playing the game a ball is lodged in the receiver23, a diiferent prize being awarded for eachofthese results.- I wishitto b'e'particularly understood that the wall at the far end of the gameboard may be rounded instead of angled as in the embodiment disclosed inthe drawings, but I prefer to employ the angle formation of the end wallas a greater variety of banking shots may be had by this construction.

Other changes may be made inthe details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and withinfthe scope of theclaims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Let-v ters Patent is: i

1. In apparatus of the class described, a game board, an enclosing wall,partitions dividing the surface ofthe board into a plurality of returnchannels, and adjustable means at the entrances of the channels forvarying the width of said entrances and variably deflecting into one ofsaid channels a; gamepiece projected into said channels, said deflectionbeing dependent upon the speed of said game piece. I i i 2. Apparatus ofthe class described comprising a game board, an enclosingwallextendingaboutthe margin thereof, partitions dividing the surface of theboard into a plurality of return channels, and an adjustable obstaclememberv disposed approximate the entrances to said channels whereby tovary the size of said entrances.

3. Game apparatus comprising a base, an enclosing wall extending aboutthe margin of said base, partition members dividing the surface of thebase into a plurality of channels, a projector device disposed at theend of one of said channels, swingable stop members pivoted to the baseto swing horizontal- 1y, spring means coacting with said stop membersnormally tending to hold them in one position, and an actuating rod forsaid stop members for horizontally swinging the stop members against thetension of their springs to extend diagonally across the channelsintermediatethe partition members.

4. Game apparatus of the class described comprising a game board, meansat one end of said board for holding the end thereof at an elevatedinclining posit-ion, spaced wall members dividing the surface of theboard into a series of channels, a projector device mounted in one ofsaid channels for impelling rollable members through said channels, asound producing member connected to the board in association withcertain of the channels, a cover member for said board having a soundprojecting opening therethrough and a rearwardly ext-ending deflectorassociated with said opening for directing the sound of the soundproducing member toward the player.

5. Game apparatus comprising a base, an

1 ciated With said channels, said obstruction means being'adjustableindependently of each other, one of said obstruction means constitutinga pivotable receiving member, and a projector device disposed at one endof one of said channels.

6. Game apparatus comprising a base, an.

enclosing Wall extending about the marginof said base, said wall havinga slot in its inner face adjacent to the upper edge thereof, partitionmembers dividing the surface of the base into a plurality of channels, asound producing member associated with certain of said channels, aprojector device disposed at the end of one of said channels, atranslucent covering adapted to slide in the slot formed in theenclosing Wall, said covering being formed in sections, certain of Whichare in spaced relation and provided with a deflecting member fordirecting sounds from said sound producing member towards the player,and means for locking said covering sections in'position, said meansbeing shiftable to permit separation of the covering sections Whereby torender the interior of the apparatus accessible.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

DALLAS E. WALKER.

